Every blessing I ever get is predicated on me doing my part first, and I'm not doing it. I'm sitting around waiting and hoping for things to get better instead of preparing myself to deal with the idea that maybe they won't. But even if they don't, I can set myself apart from the world and all this contention by getting myself back to the temple.
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All throughout the scriptures I see examples of people having to prove their allegiance to the Lord by living through sometimes unimaginable tests. The hardest thing about these trials of faith is the step that is required into the darkness. That first act of trust, when there is so much unknown. The willingness to sacrifice when you don't know the outcome.
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An interesting thing to realize as you read these parts of church history is that these mobs that were doing the persecuting were, many times, not strangers. These were their neighbors, some of whom they had probably done business with at one time. In some cases, like in Kirtland, these were former members of the church--people that at one time had called the people they were now persecuting "brother".
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The one thing that I noticed as I was reading this week's lesson, For the Salvation of Zion, is that there are a lot of IFs here. The Lord has so many blessings in store for us, but there are always requirements for us to qualify for them.
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A funny thing happened as I was reading the sections in this lesson. I got an answer that I didn't know I needed to a question I didn't know I had. It's always funny when the Spirit works that way. Section 89 really is a principle with a promise, and I learned that this week.
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This lesson is so chuck full of valuable things we can learn it's almost impossible to know where to start! From establishing a house of God and being commanded to build the first temple, to understanding the Creation and the three degrees of glory, to starting the School of the Prophets...
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There is a lot to learn about "the power of Godliness" and all that it does to prepare us to return to live with Heavenly Father. The ways that priesthood authority have blessed my life are too numerous to count, and I wouldn't even know where to begin.
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The blessings that come to me because of the covenants I have made, the truths I have learned, the Priesthood that has blessed my life, and the Spirit that is with me every day remind me that I owe the Lord far more than I can ever repay. Yes, He requires a lot of me as he asks me to keep His commandments, but it is the least I can do compared with all He has done for me.
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